India, Nov. 1 -- R ecently, a user on Reddit shared how he fought with his housing society's RWA (Resident Welfare Association) to allow domestic helpers to use the residents' lift instead of restricting them to the service lift. But barely a week later, he admitted to regretting his stand, citing "pan stains" and trash left behind in the elevator. On the same post, a user commented that the fight was meaningless because they were getting a lift and not being forced to use the stairs. It's a recurring debate across NCR's and maybe India's gated communities, where RWA rules quietly dictate that domestic workers, delivery executives, gig workers and dog walkers must use the service lift and not the main ones. The sleek, air-conditioned passenger lifts are often reserved for those who have "paid crores" for their condos and hefty monthly maintenance fees. What began as a "management decision" has now spiralled into a moral and social debate, one that oscillates between convenience, safety, civility and class, rarely finding common ground. Supporters of the rule insist it's a matter of logistics, not lineage. "It's about crowd management," says Mansi Malik, a resident of a high-rise in Noida, adding, "We have about 90 flats in our tower. Every day there are food delivery riders, e-commerce couriers and part-time helpers. Segregating lifts means shorter waiting time." She adds, "Delivery boys often have 10 packages to drop across floors. They keep their bags at the door to rush back in quickly; that delays others. I'm told service lifts are designed to handle more load, whether it's construction material or people moving houses." Another popular argument is safety, especially for children. "You can't have random men in the lift with kids. To give you an example, I send my kids unsupervised to play basketball or lawn tennis in our society's clubhouse. If they were to meet random people or strangers in the lift, I won't be comfortable doing that. I'd have to pause my work and accompany them. It is an added stress. Yes, there are cameras in the lift, but by the time the child alerts you, the culprit would have run away. And most importantly, the kid has been affected forever. So better safe than sorry. Oh! And before you say it, the clubhouse has many safety protocols in place," says aviation professional Surbhi Dua, who has recently moved to Noida from Gurugram. At both her societies, the gig workers and people accompanying the dogs are expected to use different lifts. Parents also cite pets as a reason. "I support dog walkers using a separate lift because dogs can be unpredictable in confined spaces," says Kavita Dixit, a Gurugram resident, adding, "With children, groceries, strollers and pets in the mix, separate lifts reduce chaos." Yet, even some residents question where this line between safety and snobbery blurs. Surbhi adds thoughtfully, "At some level, we can train our staff to use facilities properly. But they visit multiple homes, who will train them? Do gig workers even have the time or patience to adapt? It's a tricky, almost demeaning idea, to assume they need to be trained to 'be like us'."...